The Tribe earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament Monday and will face off against Georgetown University.
p. The College will head to Charlottesville, Va. to take on the 14-7 Hoyas in the first round of the tournament Friday at 7:30 p.m. The team earned the spot after taking the CAA regular-season title with a 14-4-2 record. Despite their 5-4 loss in penalty kicks to Virginia Commonwealth University in the semifinals of the CAA tournament, convincing wins against fourth-ranked University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill and Hofstra University ensured the Tribe a playoff berth.
p. “I think the selection was fair enough. I knew that we wouldn’t be [one of the top 16 seeded teams], but we are very happy with our spot,” Head Coach John Daly said.
p. Georgetown will be a formidable opponent for the College. With notable wins against the University of Louisville and the University of Connecticut, the Hoyas have a powerful offense.
p. “We didn’t play them in the regular season, but I know they’ve got some good players and it will be a good matchup for us,” Daly said.
p. Freshman Ingrid Wells provides a spark on offense for the Hoyas, ranking sixth nationally in assists per game.
p. The Tribe will rely heavily on its defense, a unit that has created problems for opponents all season. Allowing only .433 goals per game and shutting out opponents 65 percent of the time, the Tribe defense has proven itself as one of the strongest in the nation.
p. “We’ve still got a couple of injuries, which have given us some concern heading into the first round, but we should be okay on Friday,” Daly said.
p. The Tribe fell to VCU 5-4 in penalty kicks following a 0-0 tie in the semifinals of the CAA tournament.
p. The Tribe out-shot the Rams 14-5, but after 110 minutes of play and two overtimes, both teams remained scoreless.
p. “Their tactic was to bunker in and try to force overtime because they didn’t have too many offensive opportunities,” senior midfielder Mary MacKenzie Grier said.
p. In penalty kicks, the teams matched each other shot for shot. Grier, senior Brittany Bode and freshmen Danielle Axenfeld and Katy Winsper all answered the Rams’ goals, tying 4-4, before VCU’s Laurel Pastor scored in the eighth round to give the Rams a 5-4 victory.
